IGCSE ICT: Graphs and Charts — Practice Questions

These questions cover Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 Topic 16: creating, labelling and editing graphs and charts. They test choosing data and chart types, every label named in the syllabus, a second data series and axis, number formats, axis scales and enhancements such as extracting a pie sector. Charts are produced in the practical papers, so Section C gives a practical task with an examiner-style checklist.

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — Cambridge International holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or Cambridge directly.

Related: Graphs and Charts revision notes · Graphs and charts study guide

---

Section A: short answers

1. State the most suitable chart type to show the percentage of students choosing each of five sports. [1]

2. State the most suitable chart type to show the temperature in a greenhouse every hour for 24 hours. [1]

3. Name the label that tells the reader which colour represents which data series. [1]

4. State what is meant by non-contiguous data. [1]

---

Section B: structured questions

5. A spreadsheet holds the following data in cells A1:D5.

	A	B	C	D
1	Shop	Sales ($)	Staff	Total
2	North	12500	6
3	South	9800	4
4	East	15200	7
5	Total	37500	17

(a) A chart is needed comparing the sales of the three shops. State the cells that should be selected. [2] (b) Explain why row 5 should not be included. [1] (c) A second chart must show sales and staff numbers for each shop. Explain why a secondary axis would be useful. [2]

6. A pie chart shows how a family spends its monthly budget.

(a) Name three labels that could be added to the pie chart. [3] (b) Describe how to make the largest sector stand out. [1] (c) The chart will be printed on a black-and-white printer. Describe one change to make the sectors easy to tell apart. [1]

7. A column chart shows the value of sales for each month. The value axis currently runs from 0 to 20000 with labels such as 15000.

(a) Describe how to make the axis run from 0 to 25000 in steps of 5000. [2] (b) The axis labels must show the dollar sign with no decimal places. Describe the formatting needed. [2] (c) Name two axis titles that should be added. [2]

---

Section C: practical-style task

8. Enter this data in a spreadsheet: months January to June in A2:A7, Visitors in B2:B7 (420, 380, 510, 640, 720, 860) and Income ($) in C2:C7 (2100, 1900, 2550, 3200, 3600, 4300), with headings in row 1.

Create a chart that:

• shows Visitors as columns and Income ($) as a line on a secondary axis
• has the title Visitors and Income, January to June
• has a category axis title and both value axis titles
• has the visitors axis from 0 to 1000 in steps of 200
• shows income values with a $ symbol and 0 decimal places
• has a legend. [8]

---

Worked answers

1. Pie chart. [1]

2. Line graph. [1]

3. Legend. [1]

4. Data in cells or ranges that are not next to each other (separate blocks). [1]

5. (a) A1:B4 (or A2:B4) — the shop names and their sales (1 for shop names, 1 for sales without the total). [2] (b) It is a total, not a shop; including it would add a fourth, much larger bar and distort the comparison. [1] (c) Sales are in thousands of dollars and staff numbers are below 10, so on one axis the staff values would be too small to see (1); a secondary axis gives staff numbers their own scale so both series are readable (1). [2]

6. (a) Any three of: chart title; legend; sector labels; sector values; percentages. [3] (b) Extract (explode) that sector by pulling it out from the pie. [1] (c) Apply different fill patterns (for example stripes, dots) to each sector. [1]

7. (a) Format the value axis: set the maximum to 25000 (the minimum stays 0) (1) and set the major unit/increment to 5000 (1). [2] (b) Format the axis numbers as currency with a $ symbol (1) and set decimal places to 0 (1). [2] (c) A category axis title such as Month (1) and a value axis title such as Sales ($) (1). [2]

8. 1 mark each:

1. Correct data selected (A1:C7), with no extra rows.
2. Visitors shown as columns.
3. Income shown as a line on the secondary axis.
4. Title exactly Visitors and Income, January to June.
5. Category axis title (for example Month).
6. Both value axis titles (for example Visitors and Income ($)).
7. Visitors axis minimum 0, maximum 1000, increment 200.
8. Income axis values with $ and 0 decimal places, and a legend identifying both series. [8]

Frequently asked questions

Why do examiners penalise including totals in a chart? A total is not one of the categories being compared, so it adds a misleading extra bar or slice. Select only the data the task specifies.

Does every chart need a legend? No. A chart with one data series is usually clear without one, but a chart with two or more series, or a pie chart without sector labels, needs a legend.

How do I know whether to use a bar chart or a line graph? Use a bar chart to compare separate categories and a line graph to show a trend over time or continuous data.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (0417) syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028, Version 3, Topic 16 “Graphs and charts” (Create, label and edit a graph or chart).